Physical and physiological attributes of soccer goalkeepers - Should we rely only on means and standard deviations?

Abstract

Nikolaidis, P., Ziv, G., Arnon, M., & Lidor, L. (2015). Physical and physiological attributes of soccer goalkeepers -Should we rely only on means and standard deviations? J. Hum. Sport Exerc., 10(2), pp.602-614. The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to profile physical characteristics and physiological attributes of soccer goalkeepers (GKs) who were divided into three age groups -under 16 years, 16-19, and over 19, and (b) to examine the intra-individual variability among the GKs in each age group on all physical and physiological measurements performed in the study. The GKs underwent a series of physical (e.g., height, body mass, and percentage of body fat) and physiological (e.g., anaerobic profile, power and strength, and flexibility) tests. The three main findings of the current study were: (a) differences in physical characteristics and physiological attributes existed between GKs in the three age groups, (b) intra-individual variability can be found in most physical characteristics and physiological attributes of the GKs, and (c) the intra-individual variability was observed in all three groups. These findings emphasize the need for coaches to examine the intra-individual variability in GKs on their teams. These findings can be used by coaches when planning specific training programs for GKs of different age and skill levels.

A review of the key demands for a football goalkeeper

“…This is supported by Nikolaidis et al [4] who also found lower absolute power values in U16 goalkeepers than either U16 to U19 and over 19 age groups. However, Nikolaidis et al [4] further suggest there was a wide variation in goalkeeper scores leading to assumptions that some goalkeepers needed to work on power and jumping whereas other goalkeepers needed to work on flexibility. Justin et al [21] comment that some focus should be on training the variables which improve better jumping including, body mass, leg strength and co-ordination.…”

“…Whereas at the higher age groups (U17 to U19) the goalkeepers were out jumping the outfield players, suggesting also that there is a lack of training focus given to physically train younger goalkeepers [3]. This is supported by Nikolaidis et al [4] who also found lower absolute power values in U16 goalkeepers than either U16 to U19 and over 19 age groups. However, Nikolaidis et al [4] further suggest there was a wide variation in goalkeeper scores leading to assumptions that some goalkeepers needed to work on power and jumping whereas other goalkeepers needed to work on flexibility.…”

“…In this section, the focus of many of the papers was a comparison between goalkeepers and outfield players. Unsurprisingly, the goalkeepers were found to be taller and heavier than outfield players [3,4,5,6,7,14,17]. Youth and amateur goalkeepers are selected on their taller and larger build [6].…”

“…Explosive power is a key demand for high level football performance [22] and particularly for goalkeepers [15]. Strength and power are very important for diving, blocking, catching and deflecting shots on goal and developing power helps produce these skills more quickly, diving higher and further [4]. Chamari et al [22] found that jump tests were significantly related to explosive strength (5jump test r=.82, p<.0001).…”

“…The football goalkeeper position is often over-looked in terms of identifying specific key demands for performance [1,2,3]. In order to develop better training programmes reflecting the needs of goalkeepers more accurately, key performance demands need to be identified in their own merit rather than as a comparison with other players or positions [4,5] as is currently the case in many studies. For example, Gil et al [6,7] found that the most significant differences in their comparisons were between goalkeepers and outfield players, in particular the forwards.…”